More than anything else in the world, Lion liked being King of the jungle. He walked around, showing off his power and pride.

Each day Lion took a long lazy sleep under the shade of his favorite tree. He always dreamed of weaker animals bowing(鞠躬) before him.

    One day Mouse ran through the jungle and tripped over（被……绊倒） Lion's huge paws. Lion woke up with a start. ＂How dare you wake me up!＂ he shouted angrily. Lion grabbed(抓住) Mouse with one paw. ＂On the second thought, I'm in the mood for the snack, and you'll make a delicious meal.＂ he said.

    Mouse cried out, ＂King Lion, please spare（饶恕）me! If you let me live, I'll always remember your kindness. And, some day, I might be able to help you.＂

＂How could such a powerless little mouse ever help me?＂ That thought made Lion laugh so much that he decided to let Mouse go. A week later, Lion was walking through the jungle on the way to his favorite tree when he stepped onto a hunter's net. The net scooped him up. No matter how he twisted(扭动) and turned, he couldn't escape.

    When Mouse heard Lion's frightened shouts, he raced to help. Mouse quickly chewed（咬）through the ropes to make a hole in the net. Soon, Lion moved out and was free. Lion looked down at the little mouse. ＂Thank you for saving my life,＂ said Lion, smiling his widest smile. ＂I was mistaken. You are not a powerless little mouse. You are a great friend!＂

I went home one Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 1993 to get some work done in the garden. While sweeping leaves on the ground, my five-year-old son Nick came over and asked me to write something on a piece of paper to make a sign for him.

    "What for?" I asked.

    "I'm going to sell some of my stones," he answered.

    Nick was fascinated with stones and had collected many stones from all over. "I'm too busy to do that for you. Go and ask your mum for help," I said.

    A short time later, Nick, returned with a sign, reading, "Stones, One Dollar Each". He took the sign, a small chair and 4 of his best stones and walked to the road in front of our garden. There he put the stones in a line and sat down on the chair.

    After half an hour, nobody passed by. I walked to him and asked him to go back, but he didn't. Another half hour later, a small car came down the road. I watched as Nick stood up, holding his sign up. A woman rolled down a window and read the sign. I couldn't hear their talk, but I saw the woman turn to the driver and the man reach for his pocket.

    I sat in the yard, as Nick ran to me. Waving the dollar, he shouted, "I told you I could sell one stone for a dollar—if you believe in yourself, you can do anything."

    Alice's class planned to make a class newspaper. All the students wrote stories, articles or poems for it. One day Alice said to the teacher, “Most newspapers have advertisements. Can we put some in our newspaper?”

    The teacher agreed at once. She made Alice the advertising manager, and then Alice asked her classmates to advertise in the newspaper. Here are some of the ads Alice received.

    I graduated from a college recently and moved to Washington by myself.  While I was in college, it was really easy to meet new people. But “out in the real world”, I was finding it really hard. I live in a big city, and it seems like everyone around me is busy or already has all the friends they want. I was feeling so discouraged (沮丧的) and I didn't know what to do, so I called my sister for some advice.

    My sister is five years older than I am, so she's been though all this already. She's been helping me with my problems all my life. When I explained my problem, she understood completely. She said, “Why don't you try meeting people online?”

  “Online? Are you kidding? ” I asked, “A friend of mine chatted with a guy online, and when she finally met him face to face, he was nothing like what he said.”

    My sister laughed, “You don't have to look for dates online,” she said, “But you can find other people like you—people who have just moved to town and want make some new friends. When I first moved to New York after college, I found a book club and a football team online. I met a lot of people that way. ”

    “But you don't even like football!” I said. 

    “I know,” she replied, “But that didn't matter. I still had a lot of fun. You played volleyball in college. Why don't you look for a volleyball team to join?  Or an art class? ”

    “Yeah! I saw a website about volunteering the other day,” I said, “I could volunteer for an organization here in Washington. I bet I could meet a lot of really nice people that way. ”

    “Good idea!” my sister answered excitedly. “Hey, you might even meet the perfect guy.”

    “OK, now you're starting to sound like Mom,” I said. “Thanks a lot for the advice. I'm going online right now. I'll let you know what happens. Will you be home tonight?”

    “No, but I'll be here all day tomorrow, so give me a call,” my sister replied. “Good luck!”

    Rene was born in an Indian village in Oaxaca, Mexicon. His family lived in a small house. They spoke an Indian language. Rene started school in the village when he was six years old. There was no school for older children in the village. So Rene went to Oaxaca City when he was nine years old. This was a big step for Rene. It was his first time in a city.

    Little Rene got a job in the city. He worked for a rich family. He took care of their big house. He worked during the day, and he went to school at night. He learned good work and study habits. He learned Spanish, and he grew up.

    When Rene was thirteen years old, he returned to his village. He had many brothers and sisters. His mother needed help. Rene felt bad. He could not go to high school.

    When Rene was twenty years old, he took a very big step. He went to Los Angeles. He worked as a cook. He took English classes in his spare time. Then he went to university. He studied very hard.

    Today, Rene teaches English. He tells his students," Learning English is not so hard. Having good habits is the most important thing! Be organized. Use your time well. Have a good time!"

    There are many kinds of ants in America. One kind is very strong. People are afraid of it and the other animals are afraid of it, too.

    These ants are often in big groups, they eat all the animals on their way. They can kill and eat elephants. And they can eat horses, too. Sometimes they can even kill people and eat them.

    When the ants come near, people leave their homes. But people are sometimes happy after the ants pass by. Because they can see no insects(昆虫)or snakes.